Modeling Interests 1 - Railroad Operations

In Layout Design Process 4 - Railroad Modeling I identified that the layout design process can be broken down into three primary functional areas: Concept, Structure and Layout Detail.

In this blog we will discuss the second of the two elements of Concept:  Specific modeling interests.
This element consists of five parts:

• The extent of railroad operations that the modeler wishes to replicate, Railroad operations consists of : passenger, freight, yard, interchange and maintenance of way operations.
  

• The industries the modeler wishes to replicate. This includes heavy industry, medium industry, light industry and urban industrial areas that allows switching operations. 
  

• The traffic the modeler wishes to replicate. This includes: the types of trains to be run (streamline passenger v commuter, merchandise fast freights v local freights v mixed trains) etc., traffic density (the number of trains to be run during an operating session), and the length of trains to be run, 
  

•  The locomotives and rolling stock of interest to the modeler. 
  

• The type of railroad personnel positions the modeler wants to simulate during layout operations. 

Railroad Operations.

The purpose of a railroad is the loading, transporting, and unloading of products and passengers between two geographic points. To achieve that purpose railroads operate in a variety of ways to reach that goal.It is not the intent of this blog to detail the prototye operation of railroads but to provide an overview of those operations for consideration by the modeler in developing their vision.

Passenger Service. 

 Passenger operations provides a variety of modeling opportunities. It includes:

1. Long distance operations between major terminals. 
2. Regional operations between cities.
3. Commuter operations from suburbs to major city.
4. Local (branch line) operations.

Prototype passenger operational schedules can be found in Official Guides (railroad publications providing nation-wide information on railroad passenger schedules (by railroad), raiilroad specific employee timetables and passenger schedules oriented toward the tourist/user.
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Model Railroader had a on-going series of passenger operations articles that included long distance operations and regional operations, to include actual lineups of locomotives and passenger equipment. Modeling passenger equipment can be found in Model Railroader, Railroad Model Craftsman, Mainline Modeler and Prototype Modeler. Check out your prototype Historical Association for specific prototype passenger operations.

The WWSL. Based on my readings of short lines and logging railroads in the Pacific Northwest, passenger service wasnt, unless you consider small speeders or a flat car on the back of a loggng train passenger service. More traditional passenger service could be modeled on the WWSL in two ways: 1) scheduled excursions such as the Pacific Logging Conference trips to lumber companies, a pacific railroad historical society railfan trip, or as some logging companies did in the late 1050's weekend excursiofor the public to points of interest in the Olympic Peninsula National Park using steam driven passenger equipment.

Freight Services.

Freight operations provide a variety of modeling opportunities. It includes:

1. Timed Freights. Freight trains run on timed schedules similar to that of passenger services. They were often based on high value, time sensitive commodities such as perishable freight using refrigeration rolling stock (and its corresponding icing operations), live animal movement (using stock cars) or freight consigned to long distance terminals.
2. Through Freights (also called Merchandising freights). In the early years this was based on freight moving directly from one regional city yard to another without stopping at intermediate points. Often they were commodity based: unit trains of coal, trailer of flat car (TOFC) and container on flat car (COFC).
3. Way Freights. These trains were primarily operated between operating divisions. They were used for consolidation and movement of cars, empty or loaded, picking up and/or delivering raw materials or finished product from local industries.
4. Mixed Train Service. Branch lines that could not financially maintain independent freight and passenger services would consolidate both in one train - called mixed train service. At the rear of the freight train would be one or more passenger cars, usually a combine car or a combine/coach combination. 

Prototype timed freight schedules can be found in railroad specific employee timetables.

The WWSL. Freight operations will be conducted along the local freight model - starting at a yard, moving along the main line switching industries along the way and returning to the yard at the end of the business day. 

Yard switching. At the heart of railroad operations is yard switching. While freight and passenger operations go from one place to another, yard switching is where the indivudual car is consolidated, classified, inspected and serviced as required and placed into the appropriate train going in the appropriate place at the appropriate time .

Passenger cars had their own yards and servicing facilities, usually located near terminal locations. Passenger train servicing that include cleaning the passenger cars, clean linens for overnight beds, stocking the diners (if present), picking up and dropping off express cars, mail, and  baggage cars.

Frieight cars could be handled in a number of yards located in a variety of locations based on its car routing and other other operational requirements, such as icing and stock resting, car weighing and car storage.

Finally, you would find engine, caboose servicing and repair facilities for engine, passenger and freight cars at major railroad yards and terminals.

The WWSL. The WWSL will have a yard in the vicinity of Montesano. It will do classification of inbound freight by train type to industiries along the WWSL main line, and classification of outbound freight to the appropriate Class 1 (Northern Pacific, Milwaukee Road or Union Pacific interchange.

Interchange. Railroads originate, move and deliver people and freight from one destination to another. The origin of the people and freight on the railroad may also be the destination, but in most cases, the destination may not be a location serviced by the originating railroad. A interchange is where a loaded car from one railroad customer is transferred to another railroad to get it to it's destination, or an empty car returned to its owner railroad. Interchages are located at certain points, and can be  a single track, a separate yard or just an existing track in an existing yard.

Interchange tracks in a model railroad setting provides the modeler with a way to introduce competing railroad rolling stock onto the layout and provide another location for operational activity.

The WWSL. THe WWSL will interchange with the three Class 1 railroads in the area (Northern Pacific at Montesano WA, the Milwaukee Road and Union Pacific at Melbourne WA.

Maintenance of Way. The definition of maintenance of way is the upkeep and repair of a railroad's fixed property (as track and bridges).  Maintenance has long been an important part of railroading although not always mechanized like it is today.  During the 19th century the work was performed entirely with manual labor.  Large section gangs could be found all along the main line keeping it serviceable on a daily basis.  Naturally, the task was both backbreaking and dangerous.

Now maintenance is primarily mechanical oriented. Model railroaders generally model mainentance of way operations with modeled maintenance of way trains on sidings or static men and equipment in a vignette setting, Such vignettes could show bank widening, ballasting, tie renewal, rail relay, bridge work, fire protection, material reclaim and rail inspection.

The WWSL. The WWSL will have a short line era appropriate MOW operation to include a MOW train run as necessary to good operations.